Burying Norma Jeane

Now available in paperback and eBook!

Spending eternity next to Marilyn is too sweet to pass up.
—Hugh Hefner

Already in the throes of grief after the sudden loss of her husband, Miriam Renata is shaken by the news that Hugh Hefner, the lecherous founder of Playboy, has been recently entombed next to Marilyn Monroe nearly sixty years after her death. Unable to accept her idol sharing a crypt with this succubus for eternity, Miriam and her teenaged daughter set out on a road trip across the West to liberate Norma Jeane and themselves.

With the roadtrip set post-election in 2016, and the backstory tracing Norma Jeane Mortenson’s pathway to Marilyn Monroe via a series of unique film reviews, the text tells a universal story about women who are tired of being used and dismissed. On a series of adventures, Miriam and her daughter uncover deeper truths about themselves and their relationship, as well as unraveling their understanding of death, grief, patriarchy, and the legacy of Marilyn Monroe. Along the way, they contemplate the desert, diners, win big in Vegas, and listen to a lot of good road trip music. When they land at Marilyn’s crypt in the Hollywood Westwood Cemetery, they are prepared to take matters into their own hands.